Sherlock (Season 3), Review by Isabel Lai

After the heartbreaking end to “The Reichenbach Fall”, fans of Steven Moffat and Mark Gatiss’ popular adaptation of Sherlock Holmes, finally get three whole new episodes! Starring Benedict Cumberbatch as Sherlock Holmes and Martin Freeman as John Watson, Season 3 of Sherlock was certainly worth the wait.

It all starts in “The Empty Hearse”. Sherlock has been dead for two years now. But things are starting to bubble. Detective-Inspector Greg Lestrade (Rupert Graves) is trying to desperately convince a delusional Anderson (Jonathan Aris) that Sherlock is 100% dead. Mycroft is suspicious. And John is ready to propose to his soon-to-be fiancée Mary Morstan (Amanda Abbington). In a hilarious reveal, Sherlock interrupts Watson’s fancy dinner to say “NOT DEAD!” In fact, the entire episode carries on in this fashion, from train bombs to mustaches. “The Sign of Three” was equally light. Depicting John and Mary’s wedding (and the times leading up to it), it explores the depth of the relationships in the show. The first two episodes are uncharacteristically funny. Too funny, almost. But, it was fitting, somehow, especially with the last episode, “His Last Vow”, being so heavy. A terrifying secret about Mary is revealed. An evil villain is introduced. It wouldn’t be incorrect to say that after a slow beginning, the game was finally on with the finale.

Although a great deal of the action and the suspenseful style that characterizes the first two seasons happens in the finale, you definitely shouldn’t skip the first two episodes! When I first watched them, I was a little...disappointed. But, after I thought about it, the first two episodes weren’t bad, they were just different, which is a feat, considering how many episodes the show has (nine). They really explored the characters of the show themselves, especially, the newest, and my favorite, Mary Morstan.

I love Mary. Mary is a beautiful character, who is equally brilliant as she is deadly. I won’t give away too much, but I will say that the writers of this show have taken Doyle’s work to the next level. They’ve certainly taken some creative liberties with Season 3, but in my opinion, the risk paid off. Overall A+ writing, acting and cinematography, as per the usual. Sherlock’s past seasons were phenomenal, and Season 3 was no exception, if a little unorthodox.

★★★★★

Very different from past seasons, but still worth the wait (almost)